winter headwear

Our family has a soft spot for small production Made-in-America products. Especially when they are local New England based small businesses with inspiring stories and a just mission. This winter we’ve been able to test the Vermont based Skida’s line of head-wear and accessories and we are ready to share our thoughts!

While we had picked this pattern for our son it fit our daughter better and became her favorite hat this winter!

Story/Mission

You can read the full story about this ten-year old brand here, but if you’d like just the highlights here they are!

Started in 2008 when a high-school VT skier starting hand-making some hats

Demand grew quick with the founder’s mother running logistics

Brought on some local seamstresses who can work from home in northern VT

Created a program to donate head-wear to cancer patients undergoing Chemo.

Now located in Burlington, VT with a showroom and growing each year!

Products

Skida started with a few fun patterns of hats and has grown to impressive full line’s of men’s, women’s and kids hats, headbands, and neck-wear. Recently Skida added a line of Nepalese sourced Cashmere products after the founder traveled to Kathmandu and discovered the rich history of this textile production. You can read that full story here!

Other than a cool back-story and wide range of products Skida has done a great job creating an easy to navigate website allowing you to quickly filter by gender, kids, or even by print/pattern! Take a quick look here and you’ll likely find something you like.

Performance

Our family tested four products and all four rated high in terms of warmth and comfort. I wore the “Alpine Hat” for close to 30 days so far this winter while skiing and ice climbing all over New Hampshire. It’s poly-blend outer fabric is fully lined with a cozy mid-weight fleece. I found it perfect on really cold days on Mount Washington but a little on the warm side for super fast missions, which is why Skida makes a non-fleece lined Nordic line. I plan on picking a Nordic hat up as I think it will fit better under my climbing helmet… the “Alpine” line is just a smidge to thick under my helmet.

The author skiing at Wildcat Ski Mountain with the Skida Alpine Hat

I also got to test the Skida Bandito, incidentally the first “Bandito” I have ever used! This piece goes on quick with a velcro closure on the back and provides fast face protection without having to take my climbing/ski helmet off. By tucking it into my outer shell jacket I could trap a lot of warmth to fight off wind chills while descending Mount Washington in negative temperatures.

The author preparing to descend from 4900 feet in Tuckerman Ravine, Mount Washington

My son uses the Skida Alpine Neckwarmer whenever we hit the slopes or he has his ESSC school ski program and loves the completely fleece lined interior. The fact that these are easily machine wash-able helps deal with the weekly 6 year old snot-fest (Sorry to be so graphic, 6-year old skiers have a lot of free flowing mucus).

My daughter, as I mentioned, loves her Kids Skida Alpine Hat. Originally intended for our son it just wouldn’t fit his 6 year old sized head and fit our two year old daughter quite well. I’d say the kids sizing runs a little on the small side so if your child has a slightly bigger head consider going with a S/M men’s (or women’s).

Summary

Quality head-wear hand-crafted in Vermont with patterns to suit the most whimsical or the most practical. My hunting friends should definitely look at the True Timber Camo line! We are stoked to have found the Skida brand and think you will be too!

Comment Below!

While I’m not affiliated with Skida if you do end up making a purchase let them know where you heard about them and comment below what pattern/model you picked! If you are already a Skida fan let me know in the comments below as well!